The first time Kalpnath Rai contested from here on the Congress ticket, in 1980, a year when Indira Gandhi's party was on the comeback, he lost to the CPI's Jharkhande Rai. In 1984, the party fielded someone else, and wrested the seat back. Since 1989, Rai has been elected from here, although in 1996 he contested as an Independent candidate and won despite being in prison. His nearest rival was the BSP's Mukhtar Ansari, who lost by 14,000 votes. The official Congress candidate came fifth, with 2.37 % of the vote.